tft lcd vs oled in stock

A new form of display technology called Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) is sweeping the display world today. Let’s take a look at what TFT display VS OLED display and how it stacks up to TFTs.

OLED display uses a light-emitting diode (LED) that features an organic compound as its emissive electroluminescent layer. Electric current is applied to the diode, activating the organic compound film and giving off light as a result. The organic compound film is typically situated between two electrodes, one of which is transparent.

OLEDs are mostly used in smartphones and limited releases of high-end smart televisions. It can also be used in computer monitors and handheld game consoles.

OLED displays naturally emit light, so using them on a display panel doesn’t require a backlight. Meanwhile, LCDs need backlights because the liquid crystals cannot create light on their own. OLED’s natural light emission also paves the way for creating lighter screen devices than those using TFT LCD display.

LCD displays are brighter than OLED. This is due to the LCD’s use of backlights that can brightly light up the entire screen. While OLEDs emit good brightness levels from their light, they can never match the brightness that LCD backlights have.

OLED wins in the black levels feature. It’s because OLEDs can perfectly turn off a pixel, causing it to become completely black. LCDs can’t create perfect black screens even with their full-array local dimming feature. LCDs are also prone to blooming, where a bright part spoils the darkness of an adjacent black area.

OLED screens have better viewing angles than LCDs display. Some LCDs improve their viewing angles by using in-plane switching panels (IPS). However, the clarity of images and videos can’t match that of OLEDs when viewed from extreme side angles. This is because LCDs inherently block light due to their filtering layers, and that creates added depth which makes LCD viewing angles limited.

LCD displays are a bit more energy-efficient than OLEDs. Energy consumption in OLED displays depends on the screen brightness. Less brightness used means lower power consumption, but this may not be ideal because the contrast ratio will suffer when brightness is reduced. This is not ideal if, for instance, you’re using an OLED smartphone under bright sunlight.

Meanwhile, the backlights form the bulk of power consumption in TFT displays. Putting the backlight to a lower setting significantly improves the energy efficiency of TFT displays. For instance, reducing the backlight brightness of an LCD TV with a LED backlight won’t affect the picture quality but will draw less power consumption than an OLED TV.

Both OLED and LCD create high-quality images with a wide color gamut on a screen. OLED display wins over TFT display regarding blackness levels and viewing angle. However, the TFT display takes the cake for brightness and energy efficiency.

AMOLED is another emerging display technology lately. It stands for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. AMOLED is a type of OLED display used in several smartphones, digital cameras, televisions, and media players.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) and capacitors are attached to each pixel LED component of the panel. At least two TFTs are attached to one pixel – one to control the capacitor’s charging and another to give a voltage source.

AMOLED displays have better color accuracy than LCDs. What makes the color more accurate in AMOLED displays is largely due to the precise pixel control achieved by AMOLED panels.

Whites and blacks appear perfect in AMOLED displays. Whites produced by LCDs may carry a bluish tint due to the backlight. Blacks don’t completely appear dark in LCDs, too.

AMOLED provides a greater color gamut than LCDs. AMOLEDs (and all OLED displays in general) have additional blue and green saturation. While these hues greatly widen AMOLED’s color options, some people find the resulting colors a bit unnatural to look at.

Meanwhile, LCDs have subdued greens and quite compelling red hues. Its color gamutmay not be as wide as AMOLED’s, but many people still find it satisfying. That’s because LCD’s color range closely matches the Standard RBG color gamut profile, the one most utilized in videos and images.

LCD’s backlights help maintain the color balance of the entire screen. The backlights ensure that color balance remains consistent across the display. Meanwhile, AMOLED tends to suffer from very slight color balance drifts because of variances in the diodes’ light-emitting capacity over time.

LCDs often have a lower contrast ratio and are prone to light bleeds. That’s due to the backlights remaining open even if light has been blocked and the pixels are supposed to show black color. This is not a problem with AMOLED displays because the panel can simply switch off the pixel to create a pure black color. AMOLEDs have a better contrast ratio as exhibited by their pure black and white levels.

Since AMOLED displays do not require filtering layers and backlights, they’re more suited for use in handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and gaming consoles. LCD may be used in mobile devices as well, but the filtering layers and backlights tend to add a slight bulk to the device. Hence, many manufacturers are now switching to thinner and lighter AMOLED displays.

To sum up this part, AMOLED displays fare better than LCDs in terms of color gamut, accuracy, contrast, and mobile device suitability. However, LCDs have the potential for longer lifespans and carry a better color balance across the display device.

If you compare color LCD vs Display P3, you’ll find a significantly wider color range in Display P3 than the typical sRGB used in color LCDs. LCD monitors, especially those used in computers and laptops, are configured to accurately represent the sRGB gamut as precisely as possible. Meanwhile, Display P3 has been consistently used in Apple products since 2015, starting with the iMac desktop.

That’s all the basic information you need to know about LCD display screens. And the difference between TFT Display VS OLED Display. Now, you know How LCD Works, its possible lifespan, components, and how it compares to other display technologies.

Armed with this information, you can better appreciate and take care of your LCD display devices. And in case you’re planning to add display devices to your business, the information you’ve learned will help you make educated choices regarding the display technologies you’ll utilize.

TFT LCD is a mature technology. OLED is a relatively new display technology, being used in more and more applications. As for Micro LED, it is a new generation technology with very promising future. Followings are the pros and cons of each display technology.

TFT Liquid Crystal Display is widely used these days. Since LCD itself doesn"t emit light. TFT LCD relies on white LED backlight to show content. This is an explanation of how TFT LCD works.

Relatively lower contrast：Light needs to pass through LCD glasses, liquid crystal layer, polarizers and color filters. Over 90% is lost. Also, LCD can not display pure black.

Organic Light-Emitting Diode is built from an electro-luminescent layer that contains organic compounds, which emit light in response to an electric current. There are two types of OLED, Passive Matrix OLED (PMOLED) and Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED). These driving methods are similar to LCD"s. PMOLED is controlled sequentially using a matrix addressing scheme, m + n control signals are required to address a m x n display. AMOLED uses a TFT backplane that can switch individual pixels on and off.

Low power consumption and flexible: OLED doesn"t rely on backlight and consumes less power. OLED is essentially created on plastic film. It is bendable and easy to process.

High contrast and vivid color: OLED emits light itself, can produce very bright image with beautiful color. And because OLED can be turned off, it can produce true black.

Stroboscopic effect: most OLED screen uses PWM dimming technology. Some people who are easy perceive stroboscopic frequency may have sore eyes and tears.

​Micro LED, sometimes called μLED is made up of tiny LED, measure less than 100μm. Another way of looking at this is that MicroLEDs are simply traditional LEDs shrunk down and placed into an array.

Replacing organic material with inorganic GaN material eliminates the need of polarizing and encapsulation layer, found in OLED. Micro LED is smaller and thinner, consumes less power.

TFT stands for ‘Thin Film Transistor’ – it is a type of LCD that gives higher resolution and better image quality than standard LCDs. These are usually coloured, but Mono is becoming more popular and therefore more readily available.

OLED stands for ‘Organic Light Emitting Diode’. It has a layer of organic compound that emits its own light eliminating the requirement for a backlight. They are super thin, have a really wide viewing angle with exceptional contrast ratios. Some can also be curved, creating all sorts of interesting new applications for example LG’s new ‘wallpaper TV’.

This depends on the application and what you want to achieve, this is a very subjective question. LCDs can be very cheap – the older green and black ones (think calculators for example) can be extremely cheap, but they are not as colourful or easy to read as newer technologies. TFTs will give you full colour and a higher solution than an LCD, but they are more difficult to drive and tend to be more expensive. OLED is a relatively new technology. OLEDs are lower power than TFT and offer very good viewing, but have lifetime issues and are only available in smaller sizes.

OLEDs currently range from 1” to 6” – Please note manufacturers such as LG have much bigger OLED televisions but these are a different technology to those available in the industrial market.

For LCD and TFT displays, most power is consumed by the backlight. If you turn the backlight off on a standard LCD, the display itself can run from batteries for many days.

Nearly all TFTs need to have their backlight on to be able to work, which is why your tablet or phone shuts down the backlight quickly when it detects you are not using it. There are some TFTs that can work with no backlight, but they are unique and expensive.

An OLED is self-emitting, so has no backlight. With an OLED, power consumption is controllable by the user – if you want the battery to last longer then dim the display, or show fewer dots as each dot consumes power.

An LCD will work very well in direct sunlight. We actually use the sunlight as the backlight, as it bounces off the rear and becomes part of the display.

We can also achieve this in TFT by adding special films - it does decrease the overall brightness of the display but enables it to be run in direct sunlight.

We all use and handle TFTs in our daily lives with phones, monitors, laptops etc. All of these use TFT displays, but they are very different to TFTs we may use in industrial applications. Why is this?

Consumer electronics have a different specification requirement to those of us in the industrial world. From the outside, they may well look the same with the same TFT cell and white LED backlights, but the differences then start to show. Laptop screens for example are designed to be as thin and lightweight as possible – often just 3mm thick and very susceptible to physical damage, not something you would want in an industrial application.

Consumer TFTs are also designed for typically one product, and when the next one is launched their specification will change to meet the requirements of that next generation, often meaning things like mounting holes and connector positions have changed in the space of a few months.

Industrial displays have been designed and developed to overcome all of these issues. They use fixed rigid mounting holes, the interfaces are industry standard and most importantly they have a guaranteed lifetime of at least 5 years, so you can guarantee you will not have to redesign your own product due to TFT changes.

Intelligent Display Solutions (IDS) has recently introduced a whole family of industrial TFTs into RS Components, all incorporating the latest technology and all available for 5 years minimum.

Note, the E-m1 mark II viewfinder uses a TFT LCD type display, similar to the display used in most cameras rear screen. The E-m1 mark I/III, E-m1x, E-m5 mark I/II, E-m10 mark I and Stylus-1 all use a similar screen.

Typically the rear screen of Olympus cameras uses a TFT LCD display. The only two cases where I know Olympus used an OLED display is the E-m5 mark I and Tough TG-2.

One "feature" of TFT LCD screens is that if you wear polarized sunglasses, one orientation has distortions or is completely opaque while the other orientation is fine. For Olympus viewfinders (including the old VF-2/VF-3/VF-4) the problematical orientation is horizontal or landscape orientation. For the rear display, the problematical orientation is vertical or portrait orientation.

As to why Olympus uses the TFT LCD viewfinders in the higher end (and older) cameras is that they can get a faster refresh rate with TFT LCD (120fps for the E-m1 mark II if memory serves compared to 60fps). When I tested my E-m1 mark II, I found that the camera used about 16% more power when I used the higher refresh rate. Note, there are other cameras (notably the Panasonic G9) that claims to have OLED displays with faster refresh rates. Olympus does not seem to use these types of displays.

I have talked to other migraine sufferers that didn"t need the polarized sunglasses, but for them the faster refresh rates were important, and they liked the TFT LCD displays for that reason. I think in older cameras, Olympus used 30fps for the OLED displays and 60fps for the TFT LCD displays.

I find in general, that cameras with OLED viewfinders (or OLED rear displays like the E-m5 mark I) that the colors seem to be a little supersaturated. I mentally have to tone down the saturation when I"m trying to evaluate what the photo will look like, or if I liked the saturation, I would have to bump up the levels in post processing.

FWIW, OLED displays do not use a backlight, so they wouldn"t see this type of issue. Also OLED displays tend to show true black better than TFT LCD displays.

The viewfinder in the E-m10 mark II/III/IIIs/IV, Pen-F, and E-m5 mark III is an OLED viewfinder. The viewfinder in the E-m5 mark I/II, E-m1 mark I/II/II, E-m1x, Stylus-1, and the VF-2/VF-3/VF-4 viewfinders is a TFT LCD viewfinder. They have different characteristics:

In general an OLED viewfinder does not have issues if you look at the viewfinder while wearing polarized sunglasses and shooting in horizontal orientation. Most of the TFT LCD viewfinders have horizontal waves alternating between no distortion and heavy distortion (you can select the focus point if you concentrate on the areas where there is no distortion, but you would not be able to manually focus). However, the E-m5 mark II is different that when I"ve tried it, the viewfinder is completely opaque. Note, if you shoot in vertical orientation, there is not degradation.

In general, TFT viewfinders can refresh their images much faster that OLED displays can. I suspect this is the reason Olympus uses TFT viewfinders in the modern pro cameras.

Generally I find that the OLED viewfinder supersaturates the image compared to the TFT LCD viewfinder. This is great, many people like the supersaturation, but the picture that is recorded is not supersatured, and if you wanted the picture you saw in the viewfinder, you will need to bump up the levels somewhat in post processing.

In terms of computer monitors and TVs that use OLED displays compared to TFT LCD display, the OLED displays tend to fail sooner than the TFT displays. A particular failure mode is that often the OLED displays start losing color fidelity (particularly in the blue colors). However, I"m not sure it matters as much for a camera display. Most users probably don"t use their cameras enough for the monitor to fail. Those that do use their cameras day in and day typically replace their cameras every few years.

Also in terms of computer monitors and TVs that use OLED displays compared to TFT LCD displays, you can typically view an OLED screen at a wider angle than a TFT LCD screen. For a camera viewfinder, I suspect this is not an issue.

World wide, the cell phone market tends to consume most of the OLED displays. This leaves very few different displays that camera makers could use. TFT LCD display are older technology and there are likely different sources of the display.

I"m a migraine sufferer and I need to weark polarized sunglasses whenever I"m outdoors in daylight. So I now prefer cameras with OLED viewfinders over TFT LCD viewfinders.

I"ve run into other migraine sufferes that are sensitive to the refresh rate, but don"t need polarized glasses like I do. For them, the cameras with the TFT LCD finders are better because of the faster refresh rate.

Engineers should choose TFT vs OLED for new designs…and here’s why. OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology continues to increase in popularity, but its growth has really exploded in the last few months due to such large-scale mass production of consumer products such as: e-cigarettes (personal vaporizers), smart-watches, cell phones and other wearables.

But these advantages have worked against OLEDs in new products as more and more new designs have incorporated OLEDs, increasing demand, while the supply side of this technology has failed to keep pace.

“There are only a handful of factories here in Shenzhen that produce OLED screens,” says Alex Liu, President of EC Supply Inc., a leading distributor of vape and electronic cigarette products. “These factories are extremely understaffed for the tens of millions of OLED screens that are in demand, yet everyone wants to jump on board the wearable technology craze. These factories simply lack the work force and raw materials to keep up with production of wearables, let alone fulfill relatively small orders for the vape industry in time for the holiday season.”

Adding to the OLED supply nightmare is the labor shortage in China coupled with many OEM customers increasing their order quantities in a race to beat the Chinese New year shut down.

“I strongly recommend customers purchase any MODs with OLED screens through a trusted source that can guarantee inventory.” – Alex Liu, President of EC Supply Inc.

TFT technology has been in production for several years and is here to stay. There are several TFT glass suppliers to support current demand and they have a great deal of capacity for increased demand.

Focus Displays carries TFT Displays as a standard stock item and can be shipped the same day from our online store as well as from distributor: Allied Electronics

OLED relies on its own light to display images, does not need to use backlight, and is not affected by the surrounding light. Its general life is about 5000 times. TFT is an active matrix liquid crystal, and needs to use the brightness of backlight to display images, which is affected by the surrounding light, and its general life is about 20000 times.

OLED display is essentially different from traditional LCD display, that is, it does not need backlight. It uses very thin organic material coating and glass substrate. When there is current, these organic materials will emit light. Therefore, OLED LCD screen can be made lighter and thinner, with a larger viewing angle and more power saving at the same time. However, it has a short service life and can"t make the screen bigger. OLED is mostly used for folding mobile phone screen.

TFT thin film transistor (TFT) is the current material LCD screen. It belongs to the active matrix type LCD screen. There is a special lamp on the back, which can "actively" control each independent pixel on the screen. This is what we often call active matrix TFT. The reaction time is relatively fast, about 80 ms, and the visual angle is large, usually about 130 degrees, It is used in some high-end models. Because the arrangement of TFT LCD has memory, it will not recover immediately after the current disappears, which effectively improves the ability of playing dynamic pictures. The disadvantages are power consumption and high manufacturing cost.

OLED color screen is 30% more expensive than TFT color screen of the same size! The big difference between true color OLED screen and TFT screen is that OLED true color screen has high screen contrast and fuller color restoration, and OLED true color screen is better than TFT screen in backlight and brightness.

LCD: liquid crystal display. Works by adjusting the amount of light blocked. Usually has a backlight but might not (clocks, calculators, Nintendo Gameboy). The green-black ones can be very cheap and are a mature technology. Response time can be slow.

TFT: is a type of LCD with a thin film transistor attached to each pixel. All computer LCD screens are TFT since early 2000s; older ones had slower response times and poorer colour. Cost is now very good; power consumption is fairly good but dominated by the backlight. Has to be manufactured out of glass.

LED: light emitting diode. As the name suggests, emits light rather than blocking it like LCD. Used for red/green/blue/white indicator lights everywhere.

Some manufacturers advertise "LED" displays that are TFT screens with a white LED backlight, which is just confusing. Ones that are real LED screens are usually OLED.

OLED: organic LED (rather than silicon or germanium based like regular LEDs). Comparatively recent technology, so cost still quite variable and not available in really large sizes. In theory can be printed on plastic, resulting in lighter flexible displays with good brightness, good power consumption and good response time.

Are colour OLED displays ready to offer a better alternative to TFT-LCDs, and where do today’s state-of-the-art TFT-LCDs remain strong?We all know that colour graphical display can seriously enhance the user experience your application will deliver. So let"s re-cap on the advantages both TFT and OLED technology offer.

TFT-LCDmaturity means competitive prices, good quality and reliability and available in a wide range of sizes - typically 1-21" for industrial embedded applications.

Operating principle: in similar ways to a monochrome STN, twisted liquid-crystal columns create waveguides to direct light from the display backlight through polarising filters. An electric field applied across ITO electrodes changes the crystal alignment to prevent the light passing and make specific locations appear dark. Unlike STN, however, the TFT-LCD contains red, green and blue filters; a thin-film transistor embedded in every sub-pixel modulates the light intensity to mix the desired colour. TFT-LCDs can display millions of colours, and response times can be fast enough to support full-frame-rate video or smooth animations.

Performance: Standard TFT-LCDs do have some limitations, however. Contrast can be limited, and colour-inversion can be perceived at extreme viewing angles. Typical contrast ratio is about 400:1 with viewing angles of L70/R70/T70/B60.

Improvements: IPS (In-Plane Switching), aka Super-TFT, displays arrived to overcome these drawbacks. In IPS, changes in crystal orientation happen in the same plane as the glass sheets that constitute the display. Pixels are dark in the off state instead of in the on state, which enables the display to appear true back when powered down. Contrast and colour fidelity are improved, and also more consistent, even at wider viewing angles than a standard TFT-LCD can manage. What’s more, there are no distracting bright-pixel defects, which can occur when a transistor fails in a conventional TFT-LCD.

Sleek, Efficient Design: A Organic LED (OLED) displays can be made lighter and thinner than conventional or Super TFT, partly because no backlight is required. No backlight means they also consume less power, which has been the key to their success in the premium smartphone sector and is also driving adoption in mobile industrial and medical applications - such as wearable medical monitors, tele-health equipment, cordless industrial panels, and mobile robotics.

Bright and Beautiful: Their light weight and low profile allow OLED displays to be fixed to the surface of an enclosure, even if the surface is curved. This is easier and more economical than designing an aperture and making provision for mounting a TFT-LCD. The wider temperature range of OLEDs also makes them a robust choice for industrial applications or use outdoors.

Passive-Matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays can be monochrome or – with the inclusion of RGB sub-pixels -colour. On the other hand, PMOLEDs can suffer from limited frame rates at larger displays sizes, so Active-Matrix (AMOLED) technologyintroduces a thin-film transistor per pixel that allows each to remain turned on for as long as needed. An AMOLED display can be the best choice if a large, bright colour display is required.

Going the TFT-LCD route, especially given the flexibility to choose standard or IPS/Super-TFT, provides a wide choice of displays that are cost-effective, readily available in numerous sizes, and easily capable of displaying full-frame-rate video and smooth animations.

On the other hand, AMOLED displays can deliver superior optical performance and wider viewing angles, with lower power consumption, reduced weight, and the engineering and aesthetic advantages of the extremely thin and flexible substrate.

AMOLED and TFT are two types of display technology used in smartphones. AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays are made up of tiny organic light-emitting diodes, while TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) displays use inorganic thin-film transistors.

AMOLEDs are made from organic materials that emit light when an electric current is passed through them, while TFTs use a matrix of tiny transistors to control the flow of electricity to the display.

Refresh Rate: Another key difference between AMOLED and TFT displays is the refresh rate. The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen is updated. AMOLED screens have a higher refresh rate than TFT screens, which means that they can display images more quickly and smoothly.

Response Time: The response time is how long it takes for the pixels to change from one colour to another. AMOLED screens have a shorter response time than TFT screens..

Colour Accuracy/Display Quality: AMOLED screens are more accurate when it comes to displaying colours. This is because each pixel on an AMOLED screen emits its own light, which means that the colours are more pure and true to life. TFT screens, on the other hand, use a backlight to illuminate the pixels, which can cause the colours to appear washed out or less vibrant.

Viewing Angle: The viewing angle is the angle at which you can see the screen. AMOLED screens have a wider viewing angle than TFT screens, which means that you can see the screen from more angles without the colours looking distorted.

Power Consumption: One of the main advantages of AMOLED displays is that they consume less power than TFT displays. This is because the pixels on an AMOLED screen only light up when they need to, while the pixels on a TFT screen are always illuminated by the backlight.

Production Cost: AMOLED screens are more expensive to produce than TFT screens. This is because the manufacturing process for AMOLED screens is more complex, and the materials used are more expensive.

Availability: TFT screens are more widely available than AMOLED screens and have been around for longer. They are typically used in a variety of devices, ranging from phones to TVs.

Usage: AMOLED screens are typically used in devices where power consumption is a concern, such as phones and wearable devices. TFT screens are more commonly used in devices where image quality is a higher priority, such as TVs and monitors.

AMOLED and TFT are two different types of display technology. AMOLED displays are typically brighter and more vibrant, but they are more expensive to produce. TFT displays are cheaper to produce, but they are not as bright or power efficient as AMOLED displays.

The display technology that is best for you will depend on your needs and preferences. If you need a screen that is bright and vibrant, then an AMOLED display is a good choice. If you need a screen that is cheaper to produce, then a TFT display is a good choice. However, if you’re worried about image retention, then TFT may be a better option.

TFT displays are also known as an “Active Matrix TFT LCD module” and have an array of thin film transistors fabricated on the glass that makes the LCD. There is one of these transistors for each pixel on the LCD.

LCDs use voltage applied to a field of microscopic liquid crystals to change the crystal’s orientation, which in turn changes the polarization of the liquid crystal which creates light or dark pixels on the display.

Beautiful, complex images: All of our TFT modules are full-color graphic displays. Unlike standard monochrome character displays, you can create complex images for an imaginative user experience.

Single Supply: Most of the TFTs use an integrated controller with built-in voltage generation so only a single 3.3v supply is needed for both the panel power and logic voltage.

Many of our character LCD modules use a standard HD44780 controller, so they can be quickly integrated into a new product or used as a replacement in your existing products.

Many of the LCD controllers on board our graphic LCD display modules also include a CGROM (character generator ROM) which allows for easy character information as well as full bit-mapped graphic information to be shown.

Some of the graphic LCD displays have the ability to render graphics in grayscale, enabling you to show images and elements of your UI (user interface) with more depth and definition.

Because OLEDs are emissive, these displays can always be used in dark environments. There is usually a software command or hardware setting that will allow OLEDs to be dimmed.

Some OLED displays are bright enough to be sunlight readable–these models will typically take more current and may have a shorter rated lifetime. Additionally, OLEDs have extremely wide viewing angles.

What makes OLEDs useful for display construction is that they can be fabricated in bulk. Using OLED fabrication techniques, all the diodes can be made at the same time, at a much lower cost. OLEDs also come in a wide variety of colors.

Note: this is an excerpt from a six-part series from Focus Display Solutions of Chandler, Ariz. The series will provide non-technical insights into why products such as cell phones use a color display, and other instruments, such as a blood pressure monitor, use 20-year-old non-color monochrome technology. This series will cover terms such as half-life, power budget, NRE, transflective, and others, and address the different LCD module options available when selecting a display for your product by being broken down into the following parts:Which color LCD technology is best for your application?

When choosing between a color LCD display and a monochrome display, there are several variables to consider. These include cost, EOL (end-of-life), power consumption, ability to customize, and appearance or perception of your product.

Three of the mainstream color LCD technologies currently in use are TFT, OLED and FSC. My goal is to help the OEMs understand and decide which display is best for their product and will appeal the most to their end customer.

TFTs (thin-film transistor) have been around for several years and control a large percentage of the color LCD market. Although this is the most popular color technology in use today, OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) looks like they will surpass TFT technology in the next few years.

TFTs and OLEDs can be seen in applications such as cell phones, laptop computers, and digital cameras. Video and high-resolution photos are also possible on both types.

Winner: OLEDs. OLEDs operate at temperatures as low as -40ºC (-40ºF) and as high as 85ºC (185ºF). TFTs perform poorly below -20ºC (-4ºF) and above +70ºC (158ºF).

Winner: TFT. The current size of TFTs range from 0.9 inches up to, and exceeding 19.2 inches, whereas OLEDs range from 0.5 inches to 7.7 inches (Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7). It is important to note that these sizes are not absolute. There are TFT and OLED displays that are larger than the sizes listed above, but they are not in mass production at this time.

When choosing the size of your display, keep in mind two major factors: the popularity of the size and the number of suppliers that manufacture that size. Popular displays are LCDs that are manufactured in large quantities. The greater the popularity of the display, the less likely it will be discontinued in the near future, thus the lower the cost. The greater the number of manufactures for a particular size, the lower the cost, an the easier to second source.

Winner: TFTs. Half-life is a measurement of how many hours of use before a display becomes half-as-bright as when it was first turned on. The blue in the OLED has a half-life of 14,000 hours. This does not mean the display will burn out at that point, but will only be half-as-bright as when it was first turned on. There is much research in progress to increase the number of hours.

Keep in mind that not all products require the display to be on 24/7. Many products that require batteries, such as cell phones and digital cameras, only make use of the LCD for one to two hours a day. Many of these devices will be obsolete before the display reaches 14,000 hours.

Winner: OLEDs. OLEDs are estimated to be less than 0.01 mS (milliseconds). TFT is in the neighborhood of 15 mS. That"s milliseconds. The human eye blinks every 300 to 400 milliseconds. There are 86,400,000 milliseconds in one day. The eye can barely consciously detect a difference of 15 mS but the brain can tell there"s something up.

TFTs have been around longer then OLEDs. This head start has allowed TFT manufacturers more time to dominate the market, offer more sizes and lower the cost. The OLED has a few technical set backs at this time, but as technology improves, many or all of these issues may go away.

Reports suggest that Apple is getting closer to implementing MicroLED in its future product releases, including the Apple Watch, with the display technology potentially offering a number of benefits compared to other methods. AppleInsider explains how the current TFT and OLED display technologies work, and how MicroLED differs.

MicroLED shows promise as a display technology, potentially offering power savings and a reduced screen thickness when put beside current-generation display panels. Apple has recognized the potential, and has invested heavily into developing the technology over the last few years, with a view to using it in the company"s future products.

To understand fully how MicroLED can benefit Apple, it is worth understanding how the commonly-used display technologies work in the first place, before examining how different MicroLED really is in a comparison.

The most common display technology used by consumer products today, and the oldest of the technologies examined in this article, TFT"s full name of TFT LCD stands for Thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display. This technology is extensively used by Apple in its products, found in iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, and iMac lines.

The LCD part relates to the concept of defining small translucent or transparent areas in a thin and flexible liquid crystal-filled panel, like the displays used in calculators. Passing current through the segment changes the molecular properties of the defined segment area, allowing it to switch between being see-through or opaque.

TFT takes this a stage further, by effectively covering an entire panel with a grid of isolated liquid crystal segments, which again can vary between opaque and transparent based on the level of electrical current. In this case, there are far more segments needed to make up the display than with a normal calculator.

Polarizing filters on either side of the TFT display sandwich are used to prevent light from passing through directly, with the liquid crystal reaction of each segment affecting polarized light passing through the first filter to go through the second.

Sometimes these types of display are known as "LED," but this somewhat of a misnomer, as this actually refers to the use of Light Emitting Diodes as a light source. The LED backlight shines light through the various layers making up the TFT LCD.

TFT LCD screens continue to be widely used in production for a number of reasons. Manufacturers have spent a long time perfecting the production of the display panels to make it as cheap as possible, while its high usage allows it to benefit from economies of scale.

Used in consumer devices in a similar way to TFT LCD, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is a display technology that is similar in the basic concept, but differs considerably in its execution. Again, the idea is for a thin panel to be divided up into segments, with charge applied to each section to alter its molecular properties, but that"s where the techniques diverge.

As the name implies, OLED uses an organic compound film that is put between two electrodes, which are used to provide charge. Instead of the charge changing how light passes through, the current instead causes the emissive electroluminescent layer to emit light, without the need for a rear light source.

These self-emitting pixels gives OLED a considerable advantage over LCD-based systems in a number of areas. Most obviously, by not needing a backlight, OLED panels can be made far thinner than an equivalent LCD-based display, allowing for the production of thinner devices or more internal area for other components, like a larger battery.

The power efficiency of OLED panels can be far greater, as while a TFT screen requires an always-on backlight, the brightness of OLED pixels themselves determine power usage, with a black pixel consuming no power at all. OLED screens are also faster to respond than LCD displays, making them more useful for VR displays, where response time needs to be as rapid as possible.

This also allows OLED to provide superior contrast ratios compared to TFT, as the lack of backlight bleed-through that occurs in TFT simply doesn"t happen in OLED.

OLED also can be produced on plastic substrates instead of glass, allowing it to be used to create flexible displays. While this is currently embodied in curved and other non-flat screens in some devices, it has the potential to be employed in foldable smartphones or rolled up for storage, an area Apple is also allegedly examining.

Despite the advantages, OLED is still lagging behind TFT in terms of adoption. The cost of production is far higher, in part due to the need for extremely clean environments, as a single speck of dust can potentially ruining a display during fabrication.

OLED panels are also affected by the presence of water, both in production and in use. Small amounts of water contacting the organic substrate can cause immediate damage to the display, rendering parts of the screen useless.

So far, Apple"s usage of OLED consists of the premium iPhone X and the Apple Watch. As the cost of production drops down, it is plausible for Apple to use OLED in more future products, providing a better screen for customers to use.

Thought to be the next big thing in display technology, MicroLED basically takes the idea of using LEDs for pixels in a large stadium-style screen and miniaturizes it all.

Using extremely small LEDs, three MicroLEDs are put together to create each pixel, with each subpixel emitting a different color from the usual red, blue, and green selection. As each LED emits light, there is no need for a backlight as used in TFT screens.

MicroLED doesn"t use an organic compound to produce light, making it less susceptible to failure compared to OLED. Just like OLED, it can be applied onto a flexible material, allowing it to be used for curved displays or non-stationary components, like a watch strap, and can result in an extremely thin display panel.

MicroLED offers the same lower power consumption and high contrast ratio benefits as OLED when compared to TFT. However, MicroLED is also capable of producing a far brighter image than OLED, up to 30 times brighter, and is in theory more efficient in converting electricity into light.

As a relatively new and in-development technology, the cost of MicroLED production is extremely high in comparison to the more established OLED and TFT mass production lines, in part due to lower than required yields. Manufacturing equipment vendors have produced hardware for MicroLED production that cuts defects in half and reduces deposition deviance from 3 nanometers down to 1 nanometer, but it is unclear if this is enough to help mass production move forward.

While MicroLED is an attractive proposition for Apple, it is not the only technology under development by the company"s engineers. Apple has previously filed patent applications for a technology described as "Quantum Dot LED and OLED Integration for High Efficiency Displays."

Quantum Dots are photoluminescent particles included in an LED-backed TFT display that can produce brighter and more vibrant colors, with the colors produced depending on their size. While available in current QLED televisions, the technology is only really being used to enhance the backlight, rather than being used to illuminate individual pixels.

The technology in theory can create an even thinner display than OLED, along with a more streamlined manufacturing process. True QD displays are also capable of high pixel densities of up to 1,000ppi, multiple times the density required to be called a Retina-quality display, and based on Apple"s hybrid invention, will also boast the response times of OLED technology.

Apple has been interested in using the technology for some time now, with the first notable sign being its acquisition of LuxVue in May 2014, alongside assorted related patents. A MicroLED specialist, LuxVue was rumored to have been the display producer for the ill-fated Google Glass headset, but was also the holder of assorted patents in the LED display field, including MicroLED.

At the time, the acquisition was thought to be an attempt by Apple to bring part of its display technology development in-house, with suggestions the MicroLED technology would be used in another rumored-at-the-time device, the Apple Watch. A more recent report suggests Apple is working with TSMC to make small panels for a future premium Apple Watch, potentially starting mass production by the end of the year.

Apple has also reportedly set up a secret facility just 15 minutes away from Apple Park, believed to be used for developing MicroLED. The 62,000 square-foot facility is thought to house around 300 engineers on a project named "T159," relating directly to the technology"s development.

The facility is also claimed to be sufficient in size to perform small scale manufacturing of display panels, allowing the company to keep development and testing in-house without involving third-parties. Considering Apple"s previous history in developing technologies before issuing information to manufacturing partners, it is possible that Apple is trying to work out the kinks in production before suppliers even attempt to make MicroLED panels.

Reports from last year also suggest Apple"s investment in MicroLED was a cause for concern for Samsung, LG, and other South Korean suppliers who provide display panels for the company"s products. Owning the process for MicroLED manufacturing could allow Apple to migrate away from its existing display suppliers in the coming years, reducing revenues and profits.

Aside from Apple"s development, there has been little in the way of announcements from other firms for products using the technology that could be bought by consumers in the coming months. The exception is Samsung, Apple"s main rival in the mobile marketplace and a major supplier of display panels, but its usage of MicroLED is not aimed at producing smaller screens.

At CES 2018, Samsung introduced The Wall, a 148-inch TV claimed to be the "world"s first consumer modular MicroLED" television. According to the South Korean electronics giant, The Wall"s modularity meant consumers would be able to customize their television"s size and shape to suit their needs.

The impending use of the technology in a high-priced consumer product could be considered proof that MicroLED display technology is maturing enough for use in devices. If the reports claiming Apple is getting close to mass producing panels is true, the inclusion of MicroLED in the Apple Watch could end up being the first mainstream usage of the technology.

Almost every display can now be fitted with a touch panel - resistive or capacitive. Even OLED industrial displays are already becoming available with touch panels.

The LCD display can be with or without backlight. The vast majority of available displays now have a backlight, allowing the display to be readable in darkness or dark environments.

OLED displays also suffer from significantly reduced contrast in direct sunlight, but some types provide acceptable readability even under such conditions.

It can be stated that there are several display technologies on the market, but the absolute majority of display types use some analogue of LCD (STN, FSTN, TFT, IPS ..) or OLED. Some advanced technologies - such as VFDs (vacuum fluorescent display) are still available but are only beneficial for some specific cases, like operation in frosts with low power consumption at the same time.

So, knowing that even a modern IPS TFT panel is still a liquid-crystal display in its essence, it implies one fundamental fact - its reaction times and usually the contrast and viewing angles have a significant effect on temperature changes. However, even in LCD technology, we can find types capable of working in the range of -30 ... + 85°C, but it should be taken in mind that the characteristics of the display at the limit temperatures will no longer be optimal.

Although it may seem that OLED technology is a winner, let"s take a look at the current market situation for OLED displays suitable for industrial applications:

The price of OLED display is about 1.5-4x higher than the LCD alternative.Types available for industrial applications are almost exclusivelyPMOLED(passive matrix)OLED alternatives are already available for many classic character displays(2x16, 4x20, etc.), with characters of the same size and identical or very similar mechanical dimensions and pin layoutIn the vast majority of cases, only monochromatic OLEDs are available. Full-colour RGB versions are available only in small sizes - approx. 1.4 "-1.7".Larger sizes of RGB OLEDs (as we know them from today"s smartphones) are available only exceptionally and usually have a very short availability, so they are not suitable for devices manufactured for many yearsThe best readability and lifetime(electric) have yellow OLED; white colour is also quite good. This is also reflected in the market offer where green, blue and red are available on a significantly smaller scalePower consumption of a fully lit (all pixels) OLED display may be comparable or even higher than that of an LCD with backlight, but in practice, the entire display is rarely used, and so the OLED alternative consumption is usually lowerThe contrast and viewing angles are of course excellent, as we have already described in several of our articlesReadabilityof OLED in the sun is noticeably deteriorating and, although relatively acceptable, specialized LCDs (particularly transflective) can achieve better contrast in direct sunlight

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While we agree that these are all critical things, today we would like to direct our readers to consider another important factor which most people completely ignore, the screen type of a smartphone. It is something so important to your device but is also very easily overlooked when going through that list of specifications. The main reason for this ignorance being that not many people know the different screen types, their benefits, and their shortcomings. So, today we bring you a comprehensive study about the three major types- LCD, OLED and AMOLED screens.

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. As you may have known LCDs have been around for their fare share of time and deservingly so. An LCD is made up of some liquid crystals that get illuminated by a fluorescent backlight.

There are mainly two types of LCD displays used on smartphones:TFT LCD: very popular among smartphones, provides better image quality than earlier generation LCD displays but ends up consuming a lot of power hence reducing battery backup.

IPS LCD: relatively expensive hence usually found on high-end devices only, provides better viewing angles and consumes less power than TFT LCD displays.

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode. It is a thin-film display technology that contains OLED, an organic material which emits light when current is passed through it. OLEDs display much better blacks and consume less power when displaying darker colors since OLEDs are always off unless electrified individually.

PMOLED: Passive Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode uses a simple control scheme in which each row in the display is controlled sequentially. PMOLEDs are easy and cheap to fabricate but they are not efficient and their lifetime is usually less. They are typically used in smaller displays of up to 3 inches.

AMOLED: Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode is mainly driven by a TFT, which contains a storage capacitor and can hence support larger displays. AMOLED displays have no size restrictions and work on the same fundamental principles of an OLED display.

AMOLED or Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode is more of a step forward from the OLED display technology. TFT technology is very crucial to AMOLED. An active matrix of OLEDs are deposited on a TFT plane which activates on receiving electrical currents, these TFT arrays act as switches for each pixel and also contain the storage capacitor which allows for larger displays.

Typically an AMOLED display would consist of two TFTs at each pixel, one to start and stop the charging of storage capacitors and the other to provide a steady voltage of current to the pixel.

LCDs have been around for a while now while AMOLEDs are currently the new play things on the market. AMOLED is essentially a type of OLED and a better version of OLED so there is no question there as to which one is better. The real question arises on comparing LCD to AMOLED. Which one is better than the other since they both seem to have their own pros and cons. Honestly, in our opinion AMOLED beats LCD display on any given day. It offers a better picture quality, faster refresh rates, higher contrast, more brightness, higher resolution, better viewing angles and it’s also more flexible and lightweight.